Americans buy and consume a gargantuan amount of coffee every single day (roughly 400 million cups daily, largely coming from thousands of coffee shops across the nation that each regularly sell upwards of 500 cups every time the sun rises). So, you’d think we'd all have a more complete understanding of your standard disposable coffee lid. But as we recently discovered, that lid—both for iced and hot coffee—is designed to be used a second way that you've likely never tried. Using this little trick, your coffee cup lid can also be a coaster.
Yes, it's true. Give it a try. Next time you buy a grande latte from Starbucks or an iced coffee from Dunkin, simply remove the lid and dry off the underside. Then, place the lid down on a flat surface. For a hot beverage, the side of the lid that touches your lips should be on top, with the side that usually touches your drink on the bottom. For an iced drink, the side you first poke your straw through should be against the table, so that the side that touches your beverage is facing up.
Next, place your cup in the center of the lid-turned-coaster. On a cold cup, this little trick is even cooler. The grooves in cold cup lids that make them easy to stack will cling to the bottom of your cup, meaning that your coaster will come with you when you pick up your drink. (Genius, right?!)
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And, yes, it also works with a hot coffee:
And remember: you'll never have to waste an evening apologetically re-staining your friend's furniture again. Think the coaster trick is cool? The 75 Amazing Benefits of Coffee might just convince you to make another Starbucks run.
